Why Giuliani鈥檚 comments about Obama resonate with some Americans
On Wednesday, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani went onstage and said that President Barack Obama does not love America.
Speaking at a private dinner, Mr. Giuliani said: 鈥淚 do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America,鈥� .
鈥淟ook, this man was brought up basically in a white family, so whatever he learned or didn鈥檛 learn, I attribute this more to the influence of communism and socialism鈥� than to his being African-American, Giuliani told听s 听on Friday.
His initial comments drew a brutal backlash of derision and criticism听from pundits, the public, and fellow Republicans. He's even reportedly received . But that doesn鈥檛 mean Giuliani鈥檚 words fell only on hostile ears.
鈥淭here are plenty of people who have long been committed to buying the story created in 2008 about how Obama is an outsider,鈥� , politics and law reporter for Vox.听
Controversy over the president鈥檚 birthplace, for instance, lives on long after the White House released Obama鈥檚 Hawaii birth certificate in 2011. Vox cited an that found that recently as last year, 15 percent of Americans were absolutely sure that the president was born outside the United States.
It takes no great leap to get from the idea of an 鈥渙utsider鈥� president to that of one who doesn鈥檛 love his own country, according Ms. Desmond-Harris. Giuliani, she wrote, tapped into the belief that Obama 鈥渋s somehow not one of us and fundamentally different (in a way that could potentially be scary).鈥�
Some of the former mayor鈥檚 supporters hold a similar opinion.
鈥淸Giuliani] represents a lot of Americans who are scratching their heads wondering why our president 鈥� the president of the United States 鈥� doesn鈥檛 defend our culture the way he defends everybody else鈥檚 culture,鈥� Joe M. Allbaugh, a former Giuliani adviser who led the Federal Emergency Management Agency during 9/11,
"The case for听Mr. Obama鈥檚 lack of love for this nation is compelling. We face an enemy who hates us and wants to destroy us, and听Mr. Obama听wants to appease them.听Mr. Obama听is trying to run the clock out while Iran develops the bomb. At the same time, he alienates almost every ally America has," writes .听
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Giuliani鈥檚 comments did not, as seems implied by the sheer volume of reports around the issue, come out of the blue. The same New York Times story described the former mayor, now a frequent paid speaker, as having long been prone to flamboyant, excessive, and inflammatory rhetoric.
And now that Giuliani doesn't appear to have the ambition to run for office again, he also has less reason to exercise self-restraint, according to the Times.
Of course, just because he鈥檚 long been that way doesn鈥檛 mean Giuliani鈥檚 critics are willing to lay off.
鈥淚t was a horrible thing to say,鈥� White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz said.
agreed, calling Giuliani鈥檚 comments 鈥渆qual parts ugly, thoughtless and divisive,鈥� while said the remarks were a 鈥渃heap political trick.鈥�
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 pitiful,鈥� Mr. de Blasio added.
Others have taken to Twitter to vilify Giuliani. 听
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have said it,鈥� billionaire John Catsimatidis, who hosted the dinner where Giuliani first spoke, . 鈥淚 respect the position of the president.鈥�
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) disagreed with his fellow Republican, as well.
鈥淚鈥檒l suffice it to say that I believe the president loves America,鈥� Mr. Rubio , though he clarified, 鈥淚 think his ideas are bad."
